An immense bird preyed upon tiie red
men in all parts of the country. Their
homes were at no time safe from its
ravages. Often it would carry away
children playing beside the wigwams, or, like a bolt
of lightning, dart from the sky and strike a woman
or man bleeding and dying to the earth. Whole
fields of corn had been destroyed in a single night
by its ravages, and its coming was so swift and
terrible that the Indians hardly dared stir from the
shelter of their houses. A strong party of Cayugas
and Onondagas finally determined upon its death,
no matter at what cost to themselves. A young
warrior offered himself for the sacrifice. He was
provided with a quantity of raw-hide thongs, and
repaired to one of the open spaces, where it was
believed the dreaded monster would discover and
descend upon him.

The young brave was to bind
one of the thongs upon the bird's feet or upon some
portion of its body, if possible, before he killed
him, and then his companions, rushing from their
place of concealment, would try to slay the enemy
that had been snared with such difficulty. The
preparations were elaborately made, and the young
brave went forth on his dangerous mission.

Three days he sat, chanting his death-song and
awaiting the coming of his terrible fate. On the
morning of the fourth day the sky was suddenly
darkened and the watchers saw that the great bird
was slowly circling above the heroic young Cayuga.
He ceased his chanting, and, standing upright,
shouted defiance to the almost certain death that
awaited him.

With a scream that turned the hearts of the waiting Indians cold with terror, the bird dropped upon
its victim like a panther on his prey. A short and
terrible struggle took place and then the concealed
warriors rushed forth to finish the work of their
brave young companion, who had succeeded in
throwing one of the thongs over the great mosquito's neck. They brought willing and ready
hands to the battle, and the arrows poured upon
the struggling mass like a storm of hail. After a
long encounter the bird was killed, and the young
Cayuga smiled in triumph as his last glance rested
upon the dead body of the monster.

Runners were at once dispatched to the villages
to inform the Indians of the victory, and soon vast
numbers of them came to look upon their longdreaded enemy that had been slain at such cost.
Its body was larger than that of the largest bear
they had ever seen, and the breadth of its outstretched wings was as great as the height of three
men. Its talons were as long as arrows, and its
monstrous beak was lined with sharp teeth. There
was much rejoicing over the great mosquito's
death, and for several days feasting and dancing
were held in honor of the bravery of those who had
rid the country of such a terrible scourge. Soon,
however, swarms of the poisonous little flies that
have been the pests of all nations since that time,
infested the woods, and the Indians discovered that
they came from the body of the dead bird. Too
late they realized that the body of the great mosquito should have been burned when it was first
slain, for fire is ever the destroyer of evil spirits.